Young DiRenzo keyed Easton's wrestling win over Nazareth

Easton's Hayden Keleher (left) tries to take down Nazareth's Garrett Snyder in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference match on Saturday at Easton Middle School. Easton won the match

Easton's Hayden Keleher (left) tries to take down Nazareth's Garrett Snyder in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference match on Saturday at Easton Middle School. Easton won the match (CHRIS SHIPLEY, SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)

Michael BlouseSpecial to The Morning Call

What kind of start is the Easton wrestling team off to?

As a freshman last year, Ethan DiRenzo wrestled on the undercard of Easton's varsity matches. He worked hard and paid his dues, coach Steve Powell said.

As a sophomore this season, DiRenzo's quickly proven to be a main-event headliner.

His third-period pin — and fourth victory of the first week — keyed a 36-25 win for the Red Rovers over Nazareth in Saturday evening's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference match at Easton Area Middle School.

DiRenzo was working on top against Nazareth's Ryan Herceg, at 160 pounds, when he hit the winning hold.

"I locked up an arm bar and rolled him over," said DiRenzo, who recalled pinning Herceg in a seventh-grade bout. "I wasn't expecting to get the pin. I was more or less trying for the win, looking for takedowns and reversals. It's definitely a big surprise."

His fall put Easton ahead 24-9. The Red Rovers then clinched the team win when Nazareth forfeited at 285 pounds.

DiRenzo realized his bout was crucial to the outcome.

"I could sense it would maybe decide the entire match," he said. "I did what I needed to do. I was a little nervous at the start but I was confident I could do it."

Powell, whose team dropped a disappointing 27-25 decision to Parkland in its opener, said he was doing math in his head during the bout.

"We knew how close some of them were up top. We were begging for points at that point in the match so it came at an ideal time," Powell said. "Ethan's a real high academic kid and a very hard worker. He's quickly gaining some confidence in himself and you can see it."

DiRenzo was one of three pinners for Easton.

Jimmy Saylor scored the first bonus points of the match at 138 pounds – action started at 106 – with a second-period fall and Isaiah Walker put the Red Rovers ahead 30-13 with a pin at 182.

Nazareth closed within 30-25 as Connor Williams and Walter Ortiz registered back-to-back falls at 195 and 220, respectively, but the Blue Eagles were forced to forfeit at heavyweight. (Nazareth did not weigh in a wrestler at 285.)

Dave Crowell, Nazareth's coach, said Easton looked like a different team than it did in its opening-night defeat.

"Based on what I watched against Parkland, Easton's taken a big step forward. They made us look bad and all the credit goes to them," Crowell said. "They controlled the pace of the matches. On their feet, they were much more aggressive.

"I'm a little bit surprised. I kind of expected us to be a bit better. It's early, but I expected a little more action from our guys."

From the start, the Red Rovers were the aggressor.

Junior Casin Corallo pulled off the slight upset at 106 pounds, securing a takedown with 15 seconds left to edge Blue Eagles freshman Trevor Tarsi 4-3. Easton also picked up a crucial three points at 138 when Jacob Montes bested Brock Wilson, 5-3.

In the featured bout of the match at 132 pounds, Easton junior Evan Fidelibus, a PIAA Class 3A qualifier last season, parlayed six takedowns into a 12-6 win over Nazareth freshman Sammy Sasso, a two-time junior high champion.

Overall, the Red Rovers won eight bouts.

"This was a big win to show the rest of the Lehigh Valley that we're not what we were last year," said DiRenzo, referring to Easton's un-Easton-like 13-8 record a season ago.

"We learned a lot this first week," Powell said. "Four matches in the first week is a lot but we found out a lot about ourselves."